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LESSON 6

Gender and Development

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
1. Discuss gender and development concepts

Sex and gender: What is the difference?

Historically, the terms “sex” and “gender” have been used interchangeably, but their
uses are becoming increasingly distinct, and it is important to understand the differences
between the two.

In general terms, “sex” refers to the biological differences between males and females,
such as the genitalia and genetic differences. “Gender” is more difficult to define, but it can
refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as a gender role, or an individual’s
concept of themselves, or gender identity.

Sometimes, a person’s genetically assigned sex does not line up with their gender
identity. These individuals might refer to themselves as transgender, non-binary, or gender-
nonconforming.

The differences between male and female sexes are anatomical and physiological. “Sex”
tends to relate to biological differences. For instance, male and female genitalia, both internal
and external are different. Similarly, the levels and types of hormones present in male and
female bodies are different.

Genetic factors define the sex of an individual. Women have 46 chromosomes including
two Xs and men have 46 including an X and a Y. The Y chromosome is dominant and carries
the signal for the embryo to begin growing testes.

Both men and women have testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. However, women
have higher levels of estrogen and progesterone, and men have higher levels of testosterone.

The male/female split is often seen as binary, but this is not entirely true. For instance,
some men are born with two or three X chromosomes, just as some women are born with a
Y chromosome.

In some cases, a child is born with a mix between female and male genitalia. They are
sometimes termed intersex, and the parents may decide which gender to assign to the child.
Intersex individuals account for around 1 in 1,500 births.

Some people believe that sex should be considered a continuum rather than two
mutually exclusive categories.

Gender tends to denote the social and cultural role of each sex within a given society.
Rather than being purely assigned by genetics, as sex differences generally are, people often
develop their gender roles in response to their environment, including family interactions,
the media, peers, and education.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines gender as:

“Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men, such as norms,
roles, and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to
society and can be changed.”

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Gender roles in some societies are more rigid than those in others.

The degree of decision-making and financial responsibility expected of each gender and
the time that women or men are expected to spend on homemaking and rearing children
varies between cultures. Within the wider culture, families too have their norms.

Gender roles are not set in stone. In many societies, men are increasingly taking on
roles traditionally seen as belonging to women, and women are playing the parts previously
assigned mostly to men. Gender roles and gender stereotypes are highly fluid and can shift
substantially over time.

Who wears the high heels?

For instance, high-heeled shoes, now considered feminine throughout much of the world,
were initially designed for upper-class men to use when hunting on horseback.

As women began wearing high heels, male heels slowly became shorter and fatter as female
heels grew taller and thinner. Over time, the perception of the high heel gradually became
seen as feminine. There is nothing intrinsically feminine about the high heel. Social norms
have made it so.

Pink for a girl and blue for a boy?

In many countries, pink is seen as a suitable color for a girl to wear, while boys are dressed
in blue. However, infants were dressed in white until colored garments for babies were
introduced in the middle of the 19th century.

The following quote comes from a trade publication called Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department,
published in 1918:

“The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys and blue for the girls. The reason is that
pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which
is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.”

Move forward 100 years and it is rare to find a baby boy dressed in pink in many countries.

Gender equality is considered a critical element in achieving Decent Work for All Women and
Men, in order to effect social and institutional change that leads to sustainable development
with equity and growth. Gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibilities and
opportunities that all persons should enjoy, regardless of whether one is born male or female.

In the context of the world of work, equality between women and men includes the following
elements:

Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment

1. Equal remuneration for work of equal value
2. Equal access to safe and healthy working environments and to social security
3. Equality in association and collective bargaining
4. Equality in obtaining meaningful career development
5. A balance between work and home life that is fair to both women and men
6. Equal participation in decision-making at all levels

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Given that women are usually in a disadvantaged position in the workplace compared
to men, promotion of gender equality implies explicit attention to women’s needs and
perspectives. At the same time, there are also significant negative effects of unequal power
relations and expectations on men and boys due to stereotyping about what it means to be
a male. Instead, both women and men, and boys and girls, should be free to develop their
abilities and make choices – without limitations set by rigid gender roles and prejudices –
based on personal interests and capacities.

The ILO has adopted an integrated approach to gender equality and decent work. This means
working to enhance equal employment opportunities through measures that also aim to
improve women’s access to education, skills training and healthcare – while taking women’s
role in the care economy adequately into account. Examples of these include implementing
measures to help workers balance work and family responsibilities, and providing workplace
incentives for the provision of childcare and parental leave.
What are gender roles?

Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct
ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example, girls and women are generally expected
to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are
generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold.

Every society, ethnic group, and culture has gender role expectations, but they can be very
different from group to group. They can also change in the same society over time. For
example, pink used to be considered a masculine color in the U.S. while blue was considered
feminine.

How do gender stereotypes affect people?

A stereotype is a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or group — even though
it’s overly simplified and not always accurate. Stereotypes about gender can cause unequal
and unfair treatment because of a person’s gender. This is called sexism.

There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes:

 Personality traits — For example, women are often expected to be accommodating and
emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive.
 Domestic behaviors — For example, some people expect that women will take care of
the children, cook, and clean the home, while men take care of finances, work on the
car, and do the home repairs.
 Occupations — Some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses are women,
and that pilots, doctors, and engineers are men.
 Physical appearance — For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful, while
men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress
and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short
hairstyles, women wearing dresses and make-up.

Hyperfemininity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be feminine.

Hyperfeminine folks exaggerate the qualities they believe to be feminine. This may include
being passive, naive, sexually inexperienced, soft, flirtatious, graceful, nurturing, and
accepting.

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Hypermasculinity is the exaggeration of stereotyped behavior that’s believed to be masculine.

Hypermasculine folks exaggerate the qualities they believe to be masculine. They believe
they’re supposed to compete with other men and dominate feminine folks by being aggressive,
worldly, sexually experienced, insensitive, physically imposing, ambitious, and demanding.

These exaggerated gender stereotypes can make relationships between people difficult.
Hyperfeminine folks are more likely to endure physical and emotional abuse from their
partners. Hypermasculine folks are more likely to be physically and emotionally abusive to
their partners.

Extreme gender stereotypes are harmful because they don’t allow people to fully express
themselves and their emotions. For example, it’s harmful to masculine folks to feel that
they’re not allowed to cry or express sensitive emotions. And it’s harmful to feminine folks to
feel that they’re not allowed to be independent, smart or assertive. Breaking down gender
stereotypes allows everyone to be their best selves.
How can I fight gender stereotypes?

You probably see gender stereotypes all around you. You might also have seen or experienced
sexism, or discrimination based on gender. There are ways to challenge these stereotypes to
help everyone — no matter their gender or gender identity — feel equal and valued as people.

 Point it out — Magazines, TV, film, and the Internet are full of negative gender
stereotypes. Sometimes these stereotypes are hard for people to see unless they’re
pointed out. Be that person! Talk with friends and family members about the
stereotypes you see and help others understand how sexism and gender stereotypes
can be hurtful.
 Be a living example — Be a role model for your friends and family. Respect people
regardless of their gender identity. Create a safe space for people to express themselves
and their true qualities regardless of what society’s gender stereotypes and
expectations are.
 Speak up — If someone is making sexist jokes and comments, whether online or in
person, challenge them.
 Give it a try — If you want to do something that’s not normally associated with your
gender, think about whether you’ll be safe doing it. If you think you will, give it a try.
People will learn from your example.

If you’ve been struggling with gender or gender identity and expectations, you’re not alone. It
may help you to talk to a trusted parent, friend, family member, teacher, or counselor.

Gender Gap
When economists speak of the “gender gap” these days, they usually are referring to
systematic differences in the outcomes that men and women achieve in the labor market.
These differences are seen in the percentages of men and women in the labor force, the types
of occupations they choose, and their relative incomes or hourly wages. These economic
gender gaps, which were salient issues during the women’s movement in the 1960s and
1970s, have been of interest to economists at least since the 1890s.

Figure 1 Labor Force Participation Rates of Men and Women, 25-44 Years Old, 1890-2000

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Sources: 1890-1970, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to
1970 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975); and 1960 to 2000, Current Population Survey (CPS).
Overlap period shows differences in the measurement of the labor force in the U.S. decennial population census and the
CPS.

The gender gap in U.S. labor force participation has been eroding steadily for at least
110 years (see Figure 1). In 1890, 15 percent of women in the United States aged twenty-five
to forty-four (all marital statuses and races) reported an occupation outside the home. This
figure increased to 30 percent by 1940, 47 percent by 1970, and 76 percent by 2000, when
it was 93 percent for men in the same demographic groups. Whereas the trend for women
was decidedly up, that for men was slightly down. As a result, the gender gap in labor force
participation has greatly shrunk. By 2000, of all twenty- to sixty-four-year-olds, women made
up 47 percent of the total labor force.

Advances in participation among women occurred at different times for different

demographic groups. In the 1940s, for example, although the increase for the group shown
in Figure 1 was not great, it was substantial for women in older age groups. Participation
rates for younger (married) women grew significantly in the 1970s and 1980s. And the 1980s
witnessed an increase in labor force participation of the sole group that had resisted change
in previous decades—women with infants.

Figure 1 Ratio of Female to Male Earnings (Medians) for Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

Sources: 1890 to 1987 C. Goldin, Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American
Women (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990, fig. 3.1, p.62); and 1988 to 2000, Current Population
Survey (CPS), median for year-round, full-time workers.

The gender gap that gets the most attention, however, is in earnings. The ratio of female
earnings to male earnings in full-time, year-round positions has increased greatly since the
1980s, when the ratio stood at 0.6, to a ratio in excess of 0.75 (see Figure 2) today. That is,
women’s earnings rose from, on average, about 60 percent of what men made to about 75
percent. Although no comprehensive data exist for the period before about 1950, evidence
for major sectors of the economy, when properly combined, suggests that the gender gap in
earnings narrowed substantially during two earlier periods in U.S. history. Between about
1820 and 1850, an era known as the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION in America, the ratio of female-
to-male full-time earnings rose from about 0.3, its level in the agricultural economy, to about
0.5 in manufacturing. From about 1890 to 1930, when the clerical and sales sectors began
their ascendancy, the ratio of female earnings to male earnings again rose, from 0.46 to 0.56.

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But in neither of these periods did married and adult women’s employment expand greatly.
Yet, between 1950 and 1980, when so many married women were entering the labor force,
the ratio of female earnings to male earnings for full-time, year-round employees was virtually
constant, at 60 percent.

What accounts for the difference in earnings between men and women? According to
the literature, observable factors that affect pay—such as EDUCATION, job experience, hours
of work, and so on—explain no more than 50 percent of the wage gap. The most recent
studies, as reported in a review by economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn (2000),
found that the fraction explained is now even lower, about 33 percent. The reason is that the
decrease in the gender gap in earnings was largely due to an increase in the productive
attributes of women relative to men. The remainder of the gap—termed the residual—is the
part that cannot be explained by observable factors. This residual could result from workers’
choices or, alternatively, from economic DISCRIMINATION. Surprisingly, the differing
occupations of men and women explain only 10–33 percent of the difference in male and
female earnings. The rest is due to differences within occupations, and part of that is due to
the observable factors. In just about any year chosen, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings
decreases with age and rises with education. Most telling is that the ratio is higher for single
than for married individuals, particularly for those without children. Family responsibilities
have been an important factor in slowing women’s occupational advancement over the life
cycle.

Many observers have noted the paradox that as married women entered the labor force
in steadily increasing numbers between 1950 and 1980, their earnings and occupational
status relative to men did not improve. However, that is not as paradoxical as it might seem.
Indeed, with so many new female entrants to the labor force, an economist would expect
women’s wages to fall (relative to men’s) because of the huge increase in SUPPLY. In other
words, the pay of women relative to men probably stayed constant not in spite of, but because
of, the increase in the female labor force.

There is another, complementary reason why the gender gap in earnings was
stagnating at the same moment that the gender gap in employment was narrowing. As more
and more women entered the labor market, many of the new entrants had very little job
market experience and few skills. If women tend to stay in the labor force once they enter it,
the large numbers of new entrants will continually dilute the average labor market experience
of all employed women. Various data demonstrate that the average job experience of
employed women did not advance much from 1950 to 1980 as participation rates increased
substantially. Economists James P. Smith and Michael Ward (1989) found that, among
working women aged forty, for example, the average work experience in 1989 was 14.4 years,
hardly any increase at all over the average experience of 14.0 years in 1950. Because earnings
reflect the skills and experience of the employed, it is not surprising that the ratio of female
to male earnings did not increase from 1950 to 1980.

The gender gap in earnings has decreased substantially since 1980. From 1980 to
1994, the ratio increased from 0.6 to 0.74, although the ratio has stagnated since 1994.
Thus, in the fourteen years from 1980 to 1994, 35 percent of the preexisting gender gap in
pay was eliminated. Moreover, these annual earnings data overstate the size of the gender
gap because women who work full time actually work about 10 percent fewer hours than do
men.

According to economists June O’Neill and Solomon Polachek (1993), the ratio of
women’s to men’s pay increased for virtually all ages, all levels of education, and all levels of
experience in the labor market during the 1980s. What is more, the gains occurred across

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all age groups. Although women in their thirties had the greatest gains relative to men their
own age, the pay of older women relative to older men rose almost as much.

In this sense, the move to greater gender equality in the 1980s was remarkable. It was
not merely a reflection of increased opportunities for younger or more-educated women in
relation to comparable groups of men. Moreover, the increase did not occur only at the point
of initial hire. It is not surprising, therefore, that conventional methods of explaining the
decrease in the gender gap in earnings—those that rely on changing composition of the female
workforce by education, potential job experience, occupational skill, and industry—can
account for, at most, 20 percent of the increase.

Just as the stability of the earnings gap between 1950 and 1980 was probably due to
the large influx of inexperienced women into the labor force, the narrowing of the gap from
the 1980s to the mid-1990s may owe to the fact that female participation rates became very
high. Because a larger proportion of women employed in the 1980s and 1990s were
previously in the labor force, their skills and experience had expanded with time and were
not greatly diluted by the addition of new entrants. The skills many of these women acquired
when young enabled them to advance in ladder positions, allowing more women to have
“careers,” not just jobs.

Other changes also account for the decrease in the earnings gap. Educational advances,
particularly among the college educated, have placed more women on a par with men.
Whereas in 1960 male college graduates outnumbered females by five to three, by 1980 the
numbers of female and male college graduates were equal, and today women earn 57 percent
of all bachelor’s degrees. College-educated women, moreover, now major in subjects very
similar to those chosen by men, and they pursue advanced degrees in almost equal numbers.
In the 1960s, for every hundred male recipients of professional degrees (in medicine,
dentistry, law) there were fewer than five female recipients. But by 2001, women earned 46
percent of all professional degrees. That is, more than eighty females earned professional
degrees for every hundred males. Young women are now forming more realistic expectations
of their own futures than was the case thirty-five years ago. In 1968, only 30 percent of
fifteen- to nineteen-year-old females said that they would be in the labor force at age thirty-
five; by the mid-1980s, more than 80 percent thought they would be. Because the 1968 group
vastly underestimated their future participation rate, they may have “underinvested” in their
skills by taking academic courses that left them less prepared to compete in the job market.
To what extent has legislation narrowed the gender gap? One piece of legislation is Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring,
promotion, and other conditions of employment. The other is affirmative action. There is only
scant evidence that either law has had any effect on the gender gap in earnings or
occupations, although not enough research has been done to justify strong conclusions one
way or the other.

The gender gap in employment, earnings, and occupations narrowed in various ways
during the twentieth century, most especially, it seems, in the 1980s. The lessening of these
gender gaps appears to have stalled in the late 1990s and has remained stalled since then.
Whether or not the gap will continue to narrow and eventually disappear is uncertain and
probably depends on the gender gap in time spent in child care and in the homes.

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY
Learning Activity:

Look for a friend, classmate or a relative who belongs to the LGBTQA community and conduct
an interview using the following questions?

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a. What influences you to become what you are today?

b. Do you feel accepted in your family?
c. Do you feel accepted in the community? What about your work? Are accepted by your
co-workers?
d. How does other people treat you?
NOTE: CONVERT YOUR ANSWER SHEET TO PDF BEFORE UPLAODING TO THE LMS.

References:
Goldin, C. (2020). https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/GenderGap.html
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity/what-are-
gender-roles-and-stereotypes
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363#gender-identity-and-expression

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